Inside The Bills

There weren’t too many sub-4.4 40 times turned in by the defensive backs on the last day of on field testing at the NFL Combine, but Michigan State’s Trae Waynes, considered one of the top corners in the draft class did not disappoint.

Waynes posted the fastest 40-time with a 4.31 Monday. Here’s a look at the top 10 40 times by the DBs.

Louisville DL Lorenzo Mauldin is here at the NFL Combine. He’s listed as an outside linebacker since he’s probably a tweener at the NFL level. He had 20.5 sacks in his three years with the Cardinals. He also spent two seasons as a college teammate of Bills LB Preston Brown, and Buffalo’s former third-round pick had an impact on him.

“When I first got to Louisville Preston Brown was one of the first guys I watched and looked at,” said Mauldin. “The veterans taught me how to play the game. Watching Preston play his game and watching him go 110 percent in practice made me want to go 110 percent. So trying to emulate them as a freshman I thought would convince the coaches that I was ready to go 110 percent too.”

Louisville DE Mauldin on Preston Brown’s guidance: “I watched him go 110% all the time. I wanted to be like him.” pic.twitter.com/G5s2e6Rgjb

“We’re going to meet with all of them except for the top two,” said Whaley. “You’ve got to do your due diligence on all of them because you never know if you’ll be able to a get a guy or if all of them will be available and you’ve got to be able to rank them and go with the best.”

“That’s what we’re going to do, an exhaustive search with the quarterbacks just looking at these guys not only here at the Combine, but we’re going to send David Lee, the quarterbacks coach out to work those other guys out,” Whaley said. “That’s another avenue where we can add a guy. We can add two or one in free agency and one in the draft. But we’re going to try to get the best guys out there to help the Buffalo Bills win.”

When asked about the approach by some NFL clubs that draft a quarterback every year, Whaley wasn’t against such a strategy.

“That’s a possibility,” he said. “Until you hit on one (drafting) quarterbacks and cornerbacks (every year isn’t wrong) because it’s a passing league that’s an approach some subscribe to and I’m not opposed to it.”

The San Francisco 49ers offense was one of the best in football in the four years that Greg Roman was their offensive coordinator. The unit did take a step back last year with speculation of disagreements between the head coach and the front office being a major detriment to the performance of the team. 49ers GM Trent Baalke was asked specifically about Bills new offensive coordinator Greg Roman and his future in the league now that he’s moved on from the 49ers.

“I think Greg is one heck-of-a football coach and for whatever reason last year it just didn’t work,” said Baalke. “As you look at why, we had injuries. There were other things that were going on and there were a lot of different battles being played out in different ways. But, I take nothing away from the coaches. They worked their tail end off. They
were in there early. They stayed late. They did everything that was asked of them and so did the players. But, sometimes it just doesn’t work.”

Baalke was also asked about veteran RB Frank Gore, who at 31 ran for over 1,100 yards last season, but is set to become a free agent.

“Frank… everyone asks that question all the time. I think I’ve been asked that question for five straight years now,” said Baalke. “Frank’s just the Energizer battery, he just keeps on ticking. The last two games of the season, I think you saw what Frank still has left in the tank. A very good football player. One of the most passionate, if not the most passionate football player I’ve ever been around. So, I still think he’s got it in him. I know that he still believes it. I talked to him the other day on the phone and we’re going to do what we can to get him back as a 49er.”

Whether Gore would be of any interest to the Bills would have to wait until the free agent market opens March 10th. With a 34-year old Fred Jackson already on the roster, it’s the general consensus that Buffalo would like to get younger at the position. Gore is one of the oldest free agent backs set to hit the market.

It’s common this time of year for national writers and pundits to re-assess the draft classes from the previous spring and NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks did just that for the Bills and the rest of their division opponents.

Brooks gave the Bills the best grade in the division. Here’s what Brooks wrote about their draft class and their combine/draft outlook.

AFC East rookie grades: Buffalo Bills building a winnerThe Bills boldly moved up a few spots in the 2014 NFL Draft to pluck Sammy Watkins with the fourth overall pick — and the rookie pass catcher didn’t disappoint, posting 982 receiving yards and six touchdowns as Buffalo’s designated playmaker. Although critics would suggest the team could’ve stayed at its original position (No. 9) and still landed a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver (see: Odell Beckham, who went to the Giants at No. 12), the fact that the Bills identified their guy and got positive results from him should earn them a solid review. They also received better than anticipated production from linebacker Preston Brown and offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson when they were pressed into action due to injuries and inconsistent play by those above them. Offensive lineman Cyrus Kouandjio is an unknown commodity at this point, but if he develops into a serviceable starter, this class could play a pivotal role in Buffalo’s re-emergence as a playoff participant under a new regime. Grade: B

Combine focus: The lack of a first-round pick in 2015 — it was surrendered to the Cleveland Browns in the deal that resulted in Watkins — prevents the Bills from addressing their quarterback situation in the draft. Still, the team can add a few pieces to enhance an offense that’s on the cusp of leading a playoff run. The offensive line needs some work along the interior, meaning Buffalo should take an extensive look at guys like Duke’s Laken Tomlinson, South Carolina’s A.J. Cann and Florida State’s Tre’ Jackson. Additionally, the Bills could explore the possibility of adding a dynamic tight end, like Minnesota’s Maxx Williams and Miami’s Clive Walford.

The NFL Combine extended invitations to 325 college prospects and 323 accepted. Three schools tied for the lead in number of prospects who will be attending.

Alabama, Florida State and Louisville will all be sending 11 players to Indianapolis for Combine interviews and testing. Florida had the next highest representation with nine players. Here’s a look at the school most heavily represented with a distinct leaning toward the SEC and ACC conferences.

Buffalobills.com will have wall-to-wall coverage of the NFL Combine and Bills news on location in Indianapolis presented by NAPA. The John Murphy show will also be broadcasting live from Indy during Combine week.

The invite list for the 2015 NFL Combine was released over the weekend and there will be 323 attendees in all. Here’s a look at how the position groups break down this year for the annual pre-draft event in Indianapolis.

Defensive linemen lead the way this year with 55 prospects due to be at Lucas Oil stadium for interviews and testing. Defensive backs and offensive linemen are the next two largest position groups. Here’s a look at the full position number count.

There was a tight end and an offensive lineman, who declined their invitations.

Buffalobills.com will have wall-to-wall coverage of the NFL Combine and Bills news on location in Indianapolis presented by NAPA. The John Murphy show will also be broadcasting live from Indy during Combine week.

San Diego State RB Adam Muema left the NFL combine last week after God spoke to him telling him to leave Indianapolis and not perform for NFL scout. After that he went missing as none of his friends, family or agent were able to reach him by phone. He’s finally been found.

Muema was found in Florida at the training facility where he was preparing for the combine and the draft. According to the NFL.com report he was still wearing the NFL combine issued clothes more than four days after going AWOL.

He rushed for 2,702 yards and 31 touchdowns over his last two seasons with the Aztecs, but entered the NFL draft early knowing he was projected as a late-round pick. Now he’s likely off the radar of some clubs after behavior like this.

As we told you last weekend, Boston College RB Andre Williams confirmed that he interviewed with the Bills at the NFL Combine. In a Monday Morning QB profile of the BC back, it was reported that Buffalo was the first team that interviewed him.

MMQB’s Jenny Vrentas is following Williams through the pre-draft process and essentially confirmed the approach in the interview room that the Bills take. As we outlined earlier this week, GM Doug Whaley, Director of College Scouting Kelvin Fisher go all football for the 15 minutes they have with a prospect and did just that with the BC power back.

The Bills immediately started rolling his game tape from last season, asking him about his pass protection responsibilities and the reads he was making. The Bengals, meanwhile, opened with a version of a psychological test: Williams first had to memorize a list of words, then perform a word association game (how is a fork like a spoon?), then organize a string of words and letters, and finally, recall the original list of words. Williams, who is writing a philosophical memoir called “A King, a Queen and a Conscience,” felt good about these mental gymnastics. More difficult was gleaning clues about what coaches and executives thought about his fortunes at the next level.

Vrentas said that Williams also met with the aforementioned Bengals, Ravens, Jaguars, Chargers and Giants. She also wrote that eight Bills coaches and personnel staff were in the room with him.

Williams is projected as a mid-round pick, an area in the draft where the Bills figure to consider a running back to groom behind Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller.

There have been all kinds of stories about the kinds of questions that are asked in the NFL Combine team interview rooms when players step in for 15 minutes of questions during the formal interviews. A lot of teams try to ask tough personal questions or interrupt prospects to get them off of their script of the right things to say. The Bills don’t do any of that.

We went inside the interview room with Bills GM Doug Whaley in our exclusive two days with him at the Combine and got a feel for the approach they take with prospects. Here’s how the Bills make the most of their 15 minutes with a prospect.

“Our approach is we make them comfortable and we do that by talking football,” Bills GM Doug Whaley told Buffalobills.com. “We get them to relax by saying, ‘Hey this is all about football. We’re going to show you pictures and film of what you do. Tell us everything about the play. What’s the play call, what’s your responsibility, what are the checks? So they loosen up and are thinking, ‘Oh they’re not asking me about my mom, my dad.’

“Our scouts have already unearthed that information. We have that stuff. We want to know from the coaches’ aspect, how much they know about football, how intelligent they are about repeating it to someone and their recall. And when you get a guy comfortable then his true personality comes out when he’s in his most comfortable state.”

So by talking football with the prospects in the 15 minutes they have with them, they not only get a good feel of their football intelligence they also get a look at a player’s personality as a byproduct of the discussion.

“You can get a sincere evaluation of the guy’s personality, not only on the field, but off the field because you can see how he reacts to plays on the field watching himself,” said Whaley. “You can see how he reacts to plays not only good, but bad and the personality comes out.”

Whaley did not initially come to learn this part of the scouting Combine process with such an approach, but after seeing it in action under former GM Buddy Nix he was sold.

“I was a little skeptical the first time, because I came from the school where you sit down and talk to them and we got those scripted answers,” Whaley said. “Then when I got to Buffalo this was Buddy’s idea and I decided I would give it a chance and you can really see their personalities come out. More than I would’ve ever thought.”